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(No Model.) v

G. E. RIDER.

v STEAM ENGINE. No. 352,150. Patented NOV. 9, 188 6.

WITNESSES!- INYENTOR 6 2 2;?

N: PETERS, Pholvlilhogmphen Washington. 0 c

" UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFI E.

GEORGE E. RIDER, OF KANSAS CITY, MIssoURI.

STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,150, dated November 9, 1886.

l Application filed November 3, 1881. Serial No. 147.115. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E, RIDER, a citizen of the United States, residingat Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Engines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification.

My invention has for its object an improve ment in steam-engines in which the steam is admitted in a centralrelation to and within the cylinder, and to act upon the inner sides of two pistons alternately and exhaust in the space ina central hollow partition arranged between the pistons, in contradistinction to' that class of engines having one piston and steam supplied at each end of the cylinder on each side of the piston-head alternately.

My invention consists in thenovel means and mechanism for accomplishing the results, hereinafter more fully specified, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a steam-engine with the cylinder in longitudinal section, showing-the construction and arrangement of the improved parts. Fig. 2 is an end view of the cylinder, showing its flangesand the position of the steam-chest and slide. 1

, A represents the cylinder of the engine. a

and a are the ports leading to the cylinder from the steam-chest. a a are flanges on the opposite sections of thecylinder A. a a are bolts passing through the-flanges a a and the partition D. Bis the steam-chest. bis the induction-pipe. btb are the bolts which pass through the flanges of the steam-chest.- O is the slide-valve.

0 is a groove in the lower part of the slide-valve. a c are the nuts on the rod 0 and on opposite sides of the slide valve. 0 is the rod to slide-valve O. 'D is the fixed central hollow partition or cylinderhead. d (1 represent the spaces for the exhaust-steam in partition or cylinder-'head-D. dd are the inclined portions of the partition or cylinder-head D. d isan opening in the partition or cylinder-head D, leading to the spaces dd. d is a perforation in the partition D, for piston-rod G. "d is a rabbet in the extension of the flanges length. The usual heads to the cylinder on either end I dispense with, and upon those parts of the cylinder which are designed to be united with the central partition or cylinderhead, D, and at their respective ends, I form the flanges c a, extending laterally and outwardly from said cylinder and as far around its respective part as is necessary to form close joints and permit the steam chest B to fit directly upon the said cylinder. I then make the partition or cylinder-head D from suitable metal, and in size to extend transversely across and cover each opening in the cylinder present ad to said partii ion or cylinder-head and as far outwardly as will correspond with the a a, and in its relative shape. In casting the central partition or cylinder-head, D, I iorm the same hollow,or with such spaces as is necessary for its purpose aronnd the stutflng-box or perforations for the piston-rod, as seen at d d, with close' outer walls presented to the openings in the cylinder, and with those parts of said parti tion or cylinder-head D extending beyond the openings in the cylinder, and ofequal width with the flanges, made solid, and the portions d of the partition, which are brought opposite the steam-chest I5, inclined toward each .other and made narrow, or less than the described thickness of the head D at its center.

in the partition D, are provided with an opening', d, which communicates with the steamchest B. The solid portion of the partition D, which extends as far outwardly as the flanges a, Ialso make of a reduced thickness, leaving the rabbet a to extend a slight distance within the sides of the cylinder and form a close partition or cylinderjoint. I then make a central transverse perforation through the partition D, which forms the stuffing-box for the piston-rod and admits the piston-rodG, and of a suitable size, adapted to receive the piston -rod and. the packing around said rod.. I then place the partition or cylinder-head D between the opposite parts of the cylinder A, provided with the flanges a,

9 The spaces 01, formed ICC and make suitable perforations through said flanges and the solid portions of said partition D, and fasten the respective parts together with the bolts a When the opposite parts of the cylinder A are thus brought together, the inclinations of the parts d of the partition or cylinderhead D toward each other leave certain spaces between said parts and the end of the cylinder, forming the portsa a". I then construct a steam-chest, B, of the usual form and with the induction-pipe I) entering in at the top of the said steam-chest, and secure the said chest transversely and in a central relation to the outside of the cylinder by the bolts b, which pass through the flanges on the steamchest and into the extended portion of the partition D, the said steam-chest thereby covering the ports a a in the said cylinder.

A slide-valve, O, is constructed to play in the steam-chest B, over the ports a and a, and is made with the transverse groove 0 in the under side, said groove being formed of the proper depth to admit the steam from one of the ports into the spaces (1, madein the central partition or cylinder-head, D, when the valve has cut off the admission of the steam from an opposite port.

Slide-valve O is operated by means of the usual slide-rod, 0 which passes through one end of the steam-chest, and is secured to the said slide-valve by the bolts 0 0.

Upon piston-rod G, which is attached to the connectingrod I by means of the connectingbolt 1', and extends through the center of the hollow partition D and within the cylinder, I place the piston F, and in such a manner that said piston F will be rigidly fixed to said rod in proximity to the connecting-rod I, and when in the exhaust-stroke of the piston F said piston is brought near the hollow partition or cylinder-head D, the remaining portion of the piston-rod Gwill extend to the farthest end of the opposite part of said cylinder, on the opposite side of the said partition or cylinderhead. Upon the same piston-rod G, and which passes through the partition D and within that part of the cylinder upon an opposite side of the said partition or cylinder-head D to that containing the piston E, I place the piston E, and secure the said piston to the end of said rod by the nut e.

In the operation of my invention the steam is admitted through th induction-pipe b to the steam-chest B, and from the said steam-chest to the cylinder A, through the parts (t a, alternately, the slide 0 cutting oil the supply to each port at the proper intervals. The steam, having been admitted through the portsto the cylinder, acts upon the inner sides of the opposite pistons alternately to produce the reciprocating movement of the piston-rod and the rotation of the driving-wheel. Vhen the steam is admitted by the slide through port a to the cylinder, and acting upon'the piston E upon its respective side, a communication is formed through port a and the groove 0 with the space d in the hollow partition or cylinder-head D, and upon the approach of the piston F toward the central partition, D, the exhaust-steam is admitted into the space d in the said partition or cylinder head through the said port ta and conducted from the engine through its eduction-pipe H, which pipe communicates with the hollow partition or cylinder-head D, and has its outlet upon the side of the engine.

The advantages of my invention enable me to obtain a much higher speed with less expenditure of steam and its use expansively, and also to obtain direct action alternately at short intervals upon the pistons without loss of motion or the creation of dead-centers. I also obtain the advantage of being enabled to remove one portion of the cylinder for the purpose of repairs without necessitating the stoppage of the engine, the bolts which pass through the flanges upon the cylinder and also through the central cylinder being placed with the nuts and bolt-heads in alternate order upon opposite sides of the flanges for this purpose.

Having fully described my invention, what I now claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a single-acting engine, the combination, with opposite cylinders open at one end, having suitable pistons, of a cylinderhead arranged between said cylinders and provided with a central transverse perforation or stuffing-box adapted to receive the piston-rod, and an annular exhaust-chamber in said cylinder-head around said stufifingbox, for the purpose specified.

2. In a single-acting engine, the combination,with opposite cylinders-open at one end, of a cylinder-head arranged betweensaid cylinders and the open ends of said opposite cylinders and provided with a central transverse perforation or stuffing-box adapted to receive the piston-rod of. pistons on said rod and in said cylinders, and an annular exhaust-chamber in said cylinder-head around said stuffing-box, and ports extending through said cylinder upon opposite sides of said cylinder-head, for the purpose described.

3. In a single-acting engine, the combination,with opposite cylinders open at one end, of a cylinder-head or partition arranged between said cylinders and the open ends of said opposite cylinders and provided with a suitable opening or port, a central transverse perforation or stuffing-box adapted to receive the piston-rod of pistons on said rod in said cylinders, and an annular exhaust-chamber in said cylinder-head or partition, and ports extending through said cylinder upon opposite sides of said cylinder-head, a steamchest, and a slide-valve in said steam-chest adapted to reciprocate over the said ports, as described.

GEORGE E. RIDER. Vitnesses:

.L. B. BAILEY, WARREN WATsoN.

ICC 

